Former Premier League footballer Mauricio Taricco has been handed a five-match suspension after K League authorities concluded he made a racist “slant-eye” gesture toward a match official in South Korea.
The 52-year-old Argentine, currently serving as assistant coach to Gus Poyet at reigning champions Jeonbuk, was judged by league investigators to have displayed the “slant-eye” gesture during an incident earlier this month.
Taricco received a red card from referee Kim Woo-seong after the ex-Ipswich and Tottenham defender protested that his side should have been given a penalty for a handball offence.
Witnesses said he later shouted the Spanish word for “racist” at the referee before placing his fingers at the sides of his eyes and pulling them outward.
Kim reported the behaviour to the league’s disciplinary panel, which determined that Taricco’s “actions constituted racist behaviour”.
“(The committee) noted that such a gesture is widely recognised across cultures as derogatory towards people of a particular race and matches actions that have previously led to FIFA sanctions,” the K League stated in a release published on Wednesday.
According to the league, Taricco insisted “he was merely pointing to his eyes to question whether the referee had seen the handball foul”.
The K League dismissed his explanation, announcing an additional fine of 20 million won ($13,600).
Jeonbuk secured this season’s top-flight championship, becoming the first club in South Korea to win the title on ten occasions.
Manager Gus Poyet assumed control at the start of the campaign and brought Taricco—his long-time coaching partner—alongside him.
The coaching duo has previously worked jointly in England, Greece, Spain, China and France.
What you should know
Mauricio Taricco, once known for his time with Ipswich Town and Tottenham Hotspur, has built a long coaching partnership with Gus Poyet across several countries.
His recent five-game suspension in South Korea stems from a gesture ruled racist by the K League, which cited global recognition of the act as offensive. Taricco argued he was only questioning the referee’s view, but the committee rejected that defence after reviewing the incident.
The league’s firm response underscores its commitment to eliminating discriminatory behaviour. Jeonbuk, the club involved, remains one of the nation’s dominant teams, recently achieving their historic tenth league championship.
